The Germany-based specialty chemical producer LANXESS is reportedly planning to launch a new plastics compounding facility at its Krefeld-Uerdingen site. As per trusted sources, besides the plant, the company will also be constructing a new warehouse and silo facility at the site.
The expansion is aimed at bolstering its position in the global plastics market, the firm said at a press release. The company also expects to create 20 new job opportunities as a result of the expansion, cited sources.
Hubert Fink, a member of the LANXESS board of management, stated that the high-performing plastics business is a substantial part of the company’s growth strategy. Through the expansion, the company will be further strengthening its position as a manufacturer of innovative product solutions that meet the requirements of modern mobility. Simultaneously, the company is making better use of its integrated value chain for these products, Fink added.
According to sources familiar with the development, LANXESS’s investments for the project fall in the range of mid double-digit million euros and is scheduled to commence manufacturing after mid-2019. Reportedly, the new plant will be producing Durethan and Pocan plastics, which are commonly used in electrical, automotive, and electronics compounds.
Michael Zobel, Leader of High-performance Materials Unit at LANXESS, was quoted saying that the site at Krefeld-Uerdingen is the central production platform of the company to manufacture plastics of premium-quality, particularly for the European markets. He further elaborated that the expansion will enable deployment of better services to meet the high demands expected from the European market in the future.
According to Plastic News, over the last few years, LANXESS has been scaling up its investments to develop compounding capacities in a bid to grow its value chain. In November last year, the company had announced investments worth 20 million euros in Changzhou, China to produce Durethan and Pocan plastics with a yearly capacity of 25 kilotonnes, reported sources.
